Growing Up
by SeaweedOwl
Summary: Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase became best friends when they were 7 years Old at Camp Half-Blood; a summer camp for kids to learn about Greek History. One summer, their lives are turned around when Annabeth's Mom passes away and Percy's step-dad relocates his family. Will the two lean on each other or fall apart?


**Hello! I'm SeaweedOwl :) If you look on my profile, you may recognize me formerly as Super8Geek. Well, technically this was previously an old friend's account that I've now taken over so I wasn't Super8Geek but I knew who it was and they've decided to retire from fanfiction (CRAY CRAY, I know!). Anyway, I did help write the 3 other stories on my account here, and debated on whether or not I should delete this account and start fresh with my story. I decided after months of thinking that I'd just continue on here.**

**So my name… SeaweedOwl is of course inspired by Percy Jackson, and that's why I'm writing a Percy Jackson story here! I've spent months and months decided on what I should write about and how I can make it different from all of the other amazing stories out there. I've literally spent so much time reading stories on here and decided… why don't I just get back into writing and do a story of my own? So I hope that you enjoy. :)**

**P.S This story is just a regular story. No demi-gods and all. :)**

**This story will begin with Percy and Annabeth being around 10 years old. The first few chapters will be their childhood, and as the story progresses, they'll grow up and all of that fun stuff :)**

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**Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase have been best friends ever since they met at Age 7, while at Camp Half-Blood; a summer camp where kids could learn about Greek history. One day, Annabeth finds out that she's going to be moving into the city of New York from her home in the suburbs and her life slowly begins to fall apart as her Mother passes away and she is banned from going back to camp during summer. Will she be able to find Percy during her journey in the city?**

**Growing Up**

Percy Jackson

Chapter One

First Day of Summer

My eyes opened slowly to the sound of my Mom's soft voice, telling me to wake up. I slowly began to rub my eyes, familiarizing myself with my surroundings. We had just arrived at Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp that I got to attend every year if I got good grades.

The first time that I attended Camp Half-Blood was when I was only seven years old. It was the youngest age that you could go at, and my Mom decided to send me there because she had gone there when she was younger. At the camp, you could learn all about Greek Gods, and even learn how to use the weapons that they had there; only with parent permission.

This was my third time coming, and every time that I came I got to see my favorite person in the world; Annabeth Chase. Annabeth was one of my best friends that I only got to see at camp. I had met her my first year at the camp, and she had offered to show me around since I was one of the only kids that _wasn't annoying the crap _out ofher. I suddenly started to wonder if she was already at camp early, and if she was planning to scare me and whack me with a couple of plastic swords when I entered my cabin like last year.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted when my Mom turned around in the driver's seat, smiling softly, "Percy, are you listening?"

I blinked a few times before looking at my Mom, "Sorry, what?"

"I only asked for you to unload your bags, honey." My Mom said as she turned around, opening the door to get out of the car.

My Mom was definitely one of the greatest people that I've ever met. I was glad that my Dad wasn't around, because I don't think I'd be so close to my Mom otherwise. She was always supportive of me, and was the only person to not call me an idiot when I didn't understand the simplest things. Leave that to the ADHD and Dyslexia that I was diagnosed with a few years ago while I was at camp.

I guess while I was attempting to read the Greek writing on the entrance of the camp, Mr. Brunner or as I like to call him, Chiron (only because of the noble centaur, Chiron, duh) pointed out that it could be Dyslexia that was interfering with my ability to read correctly and sure enough, he was right.

"Annabeth's waiting for you, Percy." I heard my Mom say from outside, knocking on my window lightly.

My eyes followed my Mom's and I scooted to the other side of the car and stared out the window to the top of the hill where I saw Annabeth standing. Her long blonde curls blew in the wind, and her tanned skin shone in the sunlight. When she finally saw me waving to her from inside of the car, she smiled and began running steadily down the hill.

I opened the door and stood at the bottom of the hill, reflecting the same happy smile that she had. When she got to the bottom, she ran right into me, causing me to slam back into my Mom's car. I gasped as Annabeth hugged me tight, "You actually came early this time!"

"Yeah, luckily my Mom got the day off." I said, pulling Annabeth off of me for a moment to catch my breath, "You trying to kill me, Wise Girl?"

"Maybe I am, Seaweed Brain," She started before she saw my Mom come around from the back of the car. Annabeth's eyes widened and she smiled, rushing over to my Mom, giving her a big hug, "Ms. Jackson!"

My Mom smiled happily, hugging Annabeth tight, "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Sally, dear?"

"Oh, sorry." Annabeth said, blushing slightly.

"It's alright, Annabeth. Could you get Percy to get his bags?"

"Hey, Seaweed Brain, help your Mom out with _your _stuff." Annabeth scolded, lightly slapping me upside the head.

"Okay, _mom_." I said playfully, going around to the trunk to where my Mom was.

I slipped on my backpack and attempted to sling my duffle bag over my shoulder. Being a boy, I should've known to pack light, but I never did. My first year at camp, I brought stuff I didn't need and what I did need, Annabeth ended up lending to me. Every year before camp since my first year, I'd get a letter in the mail from Annabeth telling me what I need to bring exactly which possibly made my bag heavier than necessary.

"Having trouble?" A familiar voice said from behind me.

As I turned around, I began to laugh as I recognized one of my friends here at camp, Luke Castellan. He was probably one of the coolest people here. He was fourteen, four years older than Annabeth and I and he always treated us with respect although we were considered the rookies at camp. His electric blue eyes glowed in the sunlight, and his blonde hair was ruffled, sticking up in dozens of different directions. It looked like he had just gotten out of a pool and let his hair dry naturally, causing it to look all weird.

"A little bit." I responded honestly, dragging the bag over towards him.

"Take note; never let a girl help you pack." Luke whispered to me as he picked up my duffle bag, strapping it onto his shoulder with a smug smile as he watched Annabeth and my Mom talk.

"I suppose I'd better get going." My Mom said quietly, hugging Annabeth tight, "Have fun at camp, Percy. And be safe."

"I'll try to keep him safe, Ms. Jackson." Luke said playfully, punching my shoulder lightly causing my Mom to smile.

"Always great to see you, Luke." Said my Mom as she hugged Luke.

"You too, Sally." Luke said, remembering how my Mom preferred being called Sally.

With that, my Mom looked at us all with a sad smile before going back around to the driver's seat of the car, getting in. She rolled her window down and waved goodbye at us before she drove off. I stood there watching as Annabeth and Luke began to make their way up the hill. I always felt bad leaving my Mom every summer for camp because she'd be stuck for an entire two months with my stupid step-dad, Gabe Ugliano. Notice that his name has Ugli in it. I like to replace the I with a Y and call him Uglyano. Immature, I know, but he's a jerk.

Gabe was a slob, and he couldn't hold a job for more than a few weeks. All he did was hang around my Mom and I's apartment with his pals and get drunk and eat food that he forced my Mom to make. I once asked my Mom why she was with him, and she wouldn't respond to me honestly. She told me that it was because he needed someone to turn his life around but I knew that he was forcing her to be with him. All of the time, he treated her like she was slave, and she did nothing about it because she knew that Gabe would end up abusing me.

Every once in a while, usually when I was just in my room minding my own business, Gabe would stumble in, obviously drunk and begin punching or slapping me. He'd always tell me how hard I make things for my Mom, especially since I had dyslexia and ADHD. I couldn't help but wonder if he was right. Ever since my Mom found out that I had dyslexia and ADHD, she'd take the extra time to help me with homework and to help me study which sometimes resulted in her being yelled at during work because she'd be late or wouldn't even show up sometimes.

"Jackson, you coming?" Luke called out over his shoulder as he hiked up the hill, slouching over slightly due to the weight of my duffel bag.

"Yeah, yeah." I shouted, sprinting up the hill to where Annabeth had stopped to wait for me. Her gray eyes were curious, and I gave her a _tell ya later _look as we went to catch up to Luke.

As the three of us walked through the gates to camp, I found myself inhaling the smell of the fresh baked goods that they were going to serve for lunch. Did I mention that Camp Half-Blood has some of the best food that I've ever tasted? Not as good as my Mom's blue pancakes and blue cookies, but they made some pretty darn good cakes and all.

I followed Luke over to my cabin where he pushed open the door, dropping my duffel bag onto the floor. He smiled slowly, looking around, "I'll always be jealous of you having a cabin right on the lake." Luke said as he walked towards the back of my cabin where I got the perfect view of the lake that my cabin was built on.

"It has its perks."

"Like a late night dip with the special lady?" Luke asked, referring to Annabeth who stood outside of my cabin, talking Piper and Jason; two of our favorite campers. They were nine, and this was their second year at the camp. Annabeth and I were pretty sure that the two of them had a crush on each other.

My eyes widened as I realized that Luke had thought that I had something with Annabeth, "What? No, no. Annabeth and I are just friends."

"Just friends?" He questioned, furrowing his brows, "Maybe for now, but when you guys are older, and being best friends is going to be almost impossible without feeling something more for each other."

I took a second to process what Luke said before shrugging half-heartedly, "Maybe for you, Luke, but I don't intend on making any moves on Annabeth anytime soon."

"I'm not saying to make any moves; I'm just saying that you two can't be best friends forever without feeling something more."

Annabeth came in right as Luke finished talking, and I rolled my eyes, shaking my head at Luke. Not every pair of best friends that were the opposite gender ended up dating. Some did, only because they were _attracted _to each other. I mean Annabeth is very, very pretty, don't get me wrong, I just can't see myself ever dating her. We're complete opposites. She's got dyslexia and ADHD like me, but she doesn't struggle as much as I do and she actually works very well with it.

Other than that, she was a pretty serious person for our age. The only time she was really goofy and weird was around me, and the only time I could ever be serious was around her. We kind of brought out these parts of each other that we never really let anyone else see because we were both afraid of being judged; especially Annabeth. Her family was very classy and proper, which was partially the reason that she didn't understand my sarcasm and jokes when we first met.

"Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth said softly, moving my hair out of my eyes.

"What?" I asked, pulling myself from my thoughts as I saw Luke wink at me as he left the cabin.

"You're zoning out again," She said with a frown as she closed the door to my cabin, sitting down at the foot of my bed, "You've done it a bunch of times today. What's on your mind?"

I wasn't really into telling people how I felt, normally because they'd use my feelings against me and tease me endlessly, but I knew that I could trust Annabeth, "Just thinking about my Mom and Gabe."

"Why're you thinking about _Uglyano_?" She asked immediately, the concern evident in her eyes.

"He's always been telling me how crappy I make my Mom's life," I started, "And sometimes it seems like it's true. She has a hard time at work, and it's only because she's always helping me with school because I'm an idiot. I can't focus because the ADHD and the dyslexia nearly holds me back every year. I'm just lucky that I have teachers that actually like me."

"That's not true, Percy," Annabeth said softly, taking my hand into hers with a small smile, "Your Mom is helping you because she doesn't want to see you struggle, and that Uglyano guy is just mad she's not making millions of dollars for him to spend on alcohol and things that he doesn't need. You and your Mom deserve better than Gabe, you really do."

Annabeth's words calmed me down, and put my mind at rest. She squeezed my hand lightly and wrapped her arm around my shoulder, shaking me lightly, "You're better than you think, Seaweed Brain."

I looked over at my best friend and smiled. Grateful to have someone who I could learn on in my life, it was always hard at home during the school year. Coming out to Annabeth and telling her how I felt was one of my favorite parts about coming to camp during the summer. She took my hand and pulled me up from the bed, releasing my hand as we approached the entrance to my cabin.

Annabeth and I were greeted outside my cabin by my cousin, Nico di Angelo and his older sister, Bianca. The two of them didn't look alike to me and acted almost completely opposite. Bianca had dark eyes and silky dark brown hair. Nico had dark eyes like Bianca, but his hair was black and very beautiful like mine (we both have messy and shaggy hair), and he's a lot more pale than his sister. He also liked to dress in dark colors; black or grey. Mostly black.

"Percy, I'm surprised that you showed up to camp on time this year." Nico greeted as he slapped me in the arm playfully.

"Oh, shut up." I said rolling my eyes as Bianca pulled me into a hug.

"Nico here is a bit grumpy because Mom didn't let him wear Black and made him wear some actual summer clothes." Bianca said, sighing as her brother crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.

Nico's usual black hoodie was replaced by a bright orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and the jeans he usually wore were replaced by a pair of cargo shorts. He was dressed in the exact same outfit as me but still said, "Do I look hideous?"

"Yes." I responded, this time dodging his slaps, "Abusive much?"

"I live to hurt you."

"More like I live to hurt him." Annabeth cut in with a smug smile on her face as she punched me in the arm.

**Dis is a LINE BREAK! I like pie, do ya wanna die? Stay fly :)**

"A toast to all of the students here at Camp Half-Blood," Chiron said, raising his cup of water at dinner. The rest of the campers followed his gesture with bright smiles as we prepared to eat dinner, "It's always great to see the familiar faces, as well as some new ones come along to this great establishment every year. Here's to the summer of 2006, may it be the best to you all."

With that, my table; Annabeth, Grover, Piper, Jason, Leo, Thalia, Nico, Bianca, Hazel, Frank and I all brought our cups of various drinks to the middle of the table where we all clinked, saying, "Cheers!" in unison before we sipped our drinks.

"Here's to the best summer ever!" Someone yelled from another table, tossing a plate of their food at Luke's table causing an immediate food fight. Sorry, Chiron.

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**Yeah! That was my really… weird story? I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'm a bit eh on if I really like this or not. I mean I had fun writing it and all, but I don't know. What do you think? Please leave a review, it'd mean a lot to me.**

**I'm not sure if I'll be able to update this as quickly as I'd like to because I'm leaving the country for 2 weeks sometime this week or next week and by the time I get back, I'll be starting school in a few weeks. I should've started this earlier on in the summer, but I had no inspiration and of course, no story. **

**Like I said, some chapters will have age changes, and I think the next chapter will still have Percy and Annabeth at the age of 10, and the following chapter we'll see the two a few years older than they are now and soon Annabeth's life will TURN AROUND ;)**

**Thank you so much for reading the entire thing if you did, that makes me happy! I made this pretty lengthy, and if you disagree then dang! You read a lot which is great because future chapters will be long. And I just spelled chapter all weird. I spelled it Chapture? Ha :) Review please!**


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